Yes, Pizzaneer, I turned the heat down 40 degrees and cooked for about 5:30. No sugar in the dough and just 1% oil. 750g dough ball using straight Power at 63%. Tips stayed fairly firm this time. We ended up serving five pies and simulated by-the-slice sales. Our guests simply chose which type of slice they wanted and the slice was was reheated in the oven for 2 minutes. SUPER crispy. Got several "best-I've-ever-had" compliments, one "best within a thousand miles" mention also. Of course, they were eating free pizza so that might have altered their objectivity.

Once we open we'll have to train our California customers that reheated slices are awesome and not simply "warmed-over". If we can accomplish this, we should kill at $4.00 for a slice and a Coke.

I would travel to Cali and sleep on your porch under the oven just waiting for the pizza... like a creepy pizza stalker. I think, no, I KNOW you are ready to open. You could have a hole in the wall place with drive-thru pickup and you would have far more business than you could handle.

Thanks for the kind words guys, our pizzas are definitely a work in progress. We plan to open in the Modesto area but we'll either need the economy to turn around (not bloody likely after last week), or we'll need to find an investor for the real estate, so we could literally still be many years away, if ever.

We are doing a number of charity/civic group events as word slowly spreads that they can get free pizza delivered, so that is keeping the oven exercised.

Hmm. Sounds like a good time to explore venture capital. You already have the accolades of the foremost pizza forum on the web (with all respect to PMQ)... what you should be exploring are hard numbers on properties & equipment, health regulations, any help/guidance by local chamber of commerce, the small business administration in your state, etc.

Where there is a will, there is a way. You have made it this far, and have done so in incredible style.

Modesto is a bit of a misnomer. The plan is to be in a small town east of there, essentially in the narrowing funnel that is the road to Yosemite. There is a 20K local population and about 20-25K cars filled with tourists driving by daily. An old, boarded-up KFC is currently available (KFC moved to a new, larger building down the street) but this empty 1800sf restaurant erected in 1987 is in an awesome spot with parking for twenty, a drive-thru, and a nice, big sign. It needs some work but the owner is motivated to sell, asking $369K but he'd take much less, I'd wager. Since the banks aren't lending, it's a cash proposition.

The pepperoni in the pic shown is Molinari Brand. It is made by a shop in San Fran and sold here in local markets (O'Briens). It is exceptionally smooth and refined, where most pepperoni I've tried is quite harsh. This Molinari pepperoni is easily the best I've tried. I steal slices off the stick throughout the week when I pass the frig. One bite and the quality is obvious, "Umm, that's good stuff." It's about $7 a chub and it makes two 18" pizzas.

Modesto is a bit of a misnomer. The plan is to be in a small town east of there, essentially in the narrowing funnel that is the road to Yosemite. There is a 20K local population and about 20-25K cars filled with tourists driving by daily. An old, boarded-up KFC is currently available (KFC moved to a new, larger building down the street) but this empty 1800sf restaurant erected in 1987 is in an awesome spot with parking for twenty, a drive-thru, and a nice, big sign. It needs some work but the owner is motivated to sell, asking $369K but he'd take much less, I'd wager. Since the banks aren't lending, it's a cash proposition.

Seems like a cool setup. I wish I was closer. I dream of slaving day in and day out making pizza, but to also risk taking a huge paycut, and having no experience and no connections, scary.